Remember to check the OoC thread first here: https://forums.mcleodgaming.com/viewtop ... 22&t=44273 to get familiar with the setting and characters.

* * *

The imperial palace shone like a beacon upon its hill, an homage to the missing sun. Great care had been taken to brightly illuminate the exterior during the morning hours, and it seemed that the sky itself was ablaze with lantern light. The effect was stunning; once inside the building, it was hard to tell that anything outside was amiss, even if one were to look through the palace's many ornate windows.

It was Unmei that first experienced this phenomenon. Still under strict guard, he was led to an interior room, a waiting area adorned with plush sitting cushions. A table in the room's center was stocked with all that was needed to make tea - if that one knew how to use the equipment, that is - though it was almost all ruined when a vigorous shove from his escorts sent Unmei reeling into the room and towards the refreshments. Any illusions of luxurious hospitality that the waiting room had previously held were quickly broken, and it didn't seem that Unmei's escorts had gone anywhere after closing the door either.

The same two guards politely greeted the next guest when they arrived, repeating the process a number of times until eventually the room was cozy with an odd assortment of characters. One of the guardsmen had peeked

Rumors about the traveler had been circulating eastern Shikame for several months now, a young woman that wandered from town to town performing miscellaneous tasks for pay. The nature of these tasks varied widely, people claiming to have witnessed her locating lost possessions, hunting dangerous creatures, repairing damaged tools and weaponry, chopping obscene quantities of timber, and even healing the sick. All this despite only carrying the tools of a calligrapher. Moreover, she never lets anybody watch her work. Some claim that she is a wish-granting spirit that will do your any bidding for the right price.

It had all begun about half a year prior, when the girl arrived in a small town near the Haridan border. Her stay was completely unremarkable, lasting for only three nights before she left. The morning afterward, however, one of the townsfolk was discovered cowering in his home after a cry was heard from within. When he was found, he was unable to responded to light or sound, though there was no visible damage to his body whatsoever. Unable to hear his own voice, he had quickly given up on screaming. What's more, a group of mercenaries from the neighboring province that had taken up residence not far from the town had vanished overnight, apparently having fled back to Harida.

Since then, the young woman had been surrounded by a fog of speculation and hearsay. One of the prevailing theories was that she was a survivor of the Gyotoku family, whose estate had been ransacked not a year prior by the very same mercenary group. Whatever the case, all of this talk made the girl fairly easy to locate.
_____

"Wait!

A pair of royal messengers had caught up to Hitomi on the road between villages and presented her with a summons. Now she stood, one hand outstretched while the other clutched the scroll she had just received. The men, having turned to make their leave, stopped and gave the young woman a quizzical look. She took a moment to compose herself before continuing.

"Please forgive me." She apologized, folding her hands in front of her as she gave a slight bow. "It is just that the trip to the capital is a long one, and it will only be that much more treacherous without the sun's guidance. I fear that I might not be able to make it by myself. I was wondering-" She hesitated, averting her gaze as her face flushed ever so slightly. "I was w-wondering if you would be willing to escort me there."

With that, she gave another bow, as if to apologize for imposing. However, she kept her head tilted back just far enough to watch the soldiers' reactions from beneath the brim of her hat. Thanks to the veil she wore, she was confident that the small gesture would go unnoticed. The messengers gave each other a meaningful look before turning back to Hitomi.

"It would be our honor to accompany you, my lady." One of them said, returning her bow. The other simply pressed a hand to his face. He began to protest, but the girl cut him off.

"Oh, thank you! Thank you so much." She spoke, putting on a smile that could thaw ice. "I don't know what I would have done without your help."

"No thanks necessary." The first man replied, placing a clenched fist over his chest. "We are merely upholding our duty." A predictably cliched response to Hitomi's equally cliched ploy.

"Moron." The other messenger breathed. "Okay, you may travel with us, but I hope you're ready to leave right away. Be warned; The trip will be arduous, and it will take several weeks. We will travel by horseback, then by sea, and then by horseback again." He pointed at the creature at the young woman's side. "You will not be able to bring your horse on a ship. You'll need to trade it in at the port and pick up a new one once we arrive. Now let's head out. We have a lot of ground to cover."

"Of course." Hitomi said with an amicable smile.

She brought her horse on the ship.
_____

A noncommittal number of weeks later, Hitomi and her escorts arrived at the capital. She parted ways with them at their station after receiving directions to the imperial palace. To thank them for their assistance, she had left them with a pair calligraphy scrolls. One read "gracious"; the other, "foolish". She neglected to mention who each one was intended for. The more cynical of the messengers insisted that his partner keep both.

Hitomi soon discovered that asking for directions to the palace had been unnecessary. The structure was so lousy with lanterns it could be spotted on the horizon. One would think they were trying to replace their missing sun. Not that she was one to talk, having attempted as much as soon as this eternal night had fallen. Initial results had been underwhelming. On the other hand, the palace now shone even more brilliantly than the sun itself. If only it could illuminate all of Yoikoro. Wishful thinking. Breathing deeply, Hitomi summoned all of her nerve and approached the entryway. It was possible that the emperor had called her here to relieve her of her hard-earned relic. If that was the case, she would be prepared. As she neared the gate, she was greeted by a pair of guards and bid to follow them as a servant lead her horse to the palace stables. As Hitomi stepped through the threshold, she found herself being directed to a waiting room. As she entered, she promptly turned to the guards and gave a cordial bow, which they reciprocated before returning to their posts.

Left to her own devices, Hitomi began to inspect the waiting room. In one of the walls was a small alcove adorned with a calligraphy scroll. As expected of the imperial palace, the quality was remarkable. A renowned practitioner of the art had undoubtedly been commissioned for the piece. She made a note to take a closer look at it if the chance arose. Aside from that, many comfortable-looking cushions had been laid out, and in the very center of the room stood a table set with equipment for making tea. Odd. When hosting guests, it wasn't customary to make them prepare their own tea. Perhaps I should try to make a first good impression by taking initiative and doing it myself. The girl thought. She was of course very familiar with the process of preparing tea. It had been one of her primary duties as a lady in waiting. Yes, She decided, what's the worst that could happen? Without further delay, she knelt at the table and began to make preparations, ignoring the disheveled, clueless-looking fellow in the room with her.

Tea Making Mini-game: Start!
Hitomi began by gently wiping down all of the equipment, then lighting the coals in the brazier and placing the kettle on it. Once the water was hot enough, she poured it into the teapot and teacups to warm them, then emptied those into a receptacle. She wasn't sure how many guests would be coming, but only [noncommittal number] teacups had been set out, so she scooped that many cups worth of green tea leaves into the pot and poured hot water over them. Hitomi stirred the mixture with the whisk that had been provided and allowed it steep for a couple of minutes. By now, more people had arrived. They were a colorful bunch of customers, but the young woman put that aside for the time being and instead focused on pouring the tea into the waiting cups.

The guards should have known better than to shove the rebellious princess into the room, given that she had a guardian dragon ready to bite someone in half at a moments notice. As the dragon roared and growled at the retreating guards, she sat and thanked the other lady for her cup of tea.

Whew, these palace steps were rough. Not as rough as the mountain pass that had led Yoko out of Toboe and into the steppes of Kyuriko, but they weren’t any cakewalk either. The elderly woman consoled herself as she forced her legs up the stairway, telling herself that this would likely be the last time that she would need to climb it: The emperor’s generous offer to restrict her to the palace grounds while they waited for the stragglers to come into town would presumably be rescinded after this meeting, and Yoko couldn’t wait to get out of the confines of these imperial walls. They hadn’t permitted her to play her flute while she was here.


She gave a courteous bow to the men keeping guard outside the designated meeting room, having, during the past few days, acquainted herself with much of the personnel that staffed this wing of the palace. The guard on the left was Akio Hamasaki, a dutiful man who never seemed to be in the mood to chat. The one on the right was Hideyoshi Yoshida. Yoshida-kun was a bit more open to conversation, but would inevitably find a way to steer it towards his dreams of becoming some fantastical reptilian beast. He was a strange kid.


Once past the door, Yoko gave another bow to each of the room’s three occupants, then quietly seated herself on one of the cushions scattered on the floor. She examined the other guests, making note of her first impressions of each. The single man in the room was handsome, to be sure, but also had an air of distance to him. The girl sitting nearby didn’t look much more approachable, seeing as how her eyes gleamed with a savage fire. It wasn’t immediately clear whether or not the woman preparing tea had been summoned or was simply a servant, but given that Yoko had never seen her before, the former was more likely. She seemed the easiest to approach, and so the elderly woman introduced herself after scooting up to the table to take her cup.


“Thank you for the tea, child. For the first time, my name is Yoko Takekawa. Please take care of me.”

Upon seeing the palace, Kaguya was not overly impressed. He had seen many palaces in his time, each more extravagant than the last. He had found that the fancier the palace, the more arrogant the master. Though he did have to admit, the lights placed around its exterior were a nice touch.

The guards that had been "escorting" him gave him directions to the room he was to wait in and then left him, rather quickly actually. Kaguya didnt mind however, he knew his mask and demeanor intimidated people, and the two guards hadnt been especially good company anyways.

He made his way towards the stair case he had been told to climb and bowed to the two guards at the top of it, before entering the room. He scanned the four other occupants of the room before making his way over to the elderly woman and whom he assumed was a servant of the palace. Kaguya took the tea offered by the girl and bowed deeply before quickly drinking it all.

Bah he thought, still tastes like old piss he forced himself not to show his displeasure through his body language, though he made no attempt to police his facial features, hidden as they were behind his mempo. Swallowing the foul drink, he made his way over to an empty corner of the room and sat.

Hitomi acknowledged Mocharatte's thanks with a brief nod. However, she was less pleased as Kaguya drank all of his tea in a single gulp before skulking off to the edge of the room. The young woman couldn't help but narrow her eyes at this, if only for a moment. Try as she might, she couldn't get a read on the man. His behavior had of course been unorthodox and, frankly, quite rude, but judging from the way he had bowed and even accepted the tea in the first place, it seemed that he was at least making an effort to be polite. It was as if he had never been in the company of other people before.

The calligrapher would have wondered what might possess the emperor to summon such a motley bunch of people if it hadn't already been startlingly obvious. The young girl seated across from her wore an impossibly intricate ring, while the socially inept gentleman was very conspicuously wearing a helmet with his clothes. The man that had arrived before her, despite being clad almost entirely in leather armor, wore a single metal gauntlet on his right arm. As if that weren't enough, Hitomi could've sworn the thing was also giving off a faint red glow. She was almost certain now. Everybody who had been called here possessed a relic. The question was for what purpose. Hitomi subconsciously pressed her hand against the satchel at her side.

“Thank you for the tea, child." Hitomi jumped slightly at the voice. Jarred from her thoughts, she turned to the elderly woman who had so stealthily slid up to the table. "For the first time, my name is Yoko Takekawa. Please take care of me.”

"I'm very pleased to meet you, Takekawa-sama." The young woman returned her greeting with a smile. "My name is Hitomi Sekichi. I hope we can get along well." As far as conversation partners went, Hitomi could certainly do much worse. However, she wasn't really in the mood for small talk. Making no further attempts at converesing, she began to clean off the tea equipment and put it back the way she had found it.

Unmei's trip to the palace was less than enjoyable. He was pushed from (literally) place to place, often with his hands bound, He wasn't given much food or water.But despite the whole ordeal, Unmei didn't once let his gauntlet rule his actions. He did manage to find some humor in the soldier's stories though. It turns out Unmei's monstrous nature was greatly exaggerated. It seemed some of the soldiers had a small fear of him even though he wished them little-to-no harm. After travelling for several days, they finally reached the castle.

Upon reaching the castle Unmei was locked up. Unmei still isn't sure how long he was locked up for but it couldn't have been more than a week. After being locked up, for who knows how long, Unmei was again grabbed, shoved, and thrown around until he reached a smaller room with the makings for tea. He looked around taking note of any and all exits. Unmei walked over and sat next to the table and waited.

As he waited several others began to make their way into the room. He chuckled at several of the others' charades as they entered the room. Once the young girl poured the tea however he reached out and held the warm tea. Looking down at it as he swirled it in his hand. Waiting for something to happen.

As Kaguya sat watching the others in the room with him, he began to realize the reason they, specifically, had been summoned. Over his many years, he had heard countless tails of mystical artifacts that granted powers and he had always scoffed at them and payed them no mind, believing them to be but fairy tales. That is, until he himself was cursed with such an artifact, since then he had paid close attention to such tales. He recognized the red gauntlet worn by the man across from as the one from the story of the vampire. After making that connection it was easy to notice that the others all carried strange artifacts as well. His curiosity piqued, he decided that perhaps it was time to learn what he had could about this alleged "emperor".

Rising from his seat, he approached where the elderly woman and the younger girl were sitting. He took a seat next to them and spoke.
"Excuse me obasan, young lady. I forgot to thank you for the tea, it was most delicious." He said bowing his head towards the young woman. Addressing both of them, "I have been away for a very long time and have not been keeping up with recent events, what can either of you tell me about the man who summoned us?"

As Hideki squinted in the light of the palace, the only thought that came to his mind was: That's far too much. Immediately, he was struck by a dislike of the place, but a summons from the emperor was a summons from the emperor, and he was curious as to what exactly was wanted from him. He pointedly ignored the guards escorting as they guided him to the room, prompting one of them to roll his eyes and mutter something under his breath.

Hideki didn't even bother to be offended, taking a step into the room and looking about him curiously. The people already gathered were a motley bunch, and he failed to see what commonality he could have with them. Everyone seemed to be gathered around the table in the center, where tea had been set out already.

It had been quite some time since he'd last really interacted with another human being, and Hideki wasn't exactly looking forward to changing it. He stayed by the doorway, leaning against the wall and taking note of the others. They didn't seem entirely normal. The man with the strange gauntlet made Hideki feel slightly uneasy, and who would wear a helmet along with normal clothes? Hideki decided he would stay by the doorway and continue to watch the situation, as well as observe any newcomers to the room.

Mocharatte watched the others in the room with amazement, slightly disturbed at their indifference to the angry dragon in the room. She watched the dragon scare off a pair of guards and wondered how an emperor this pathetic rose to power.
She closed her eyes and downed the rest of her tea.

There were lights, lots of lights. Big lights, small lights. Nice to look at. All very bright. All very pretty. All very late. Late? Late.

Late…

…

She was going to be late!

With a start, Chouko broke from her reverie. She was still some miles from the city, but the palace’s radiant light had so awed her as she had exited the nearby forest that she could not help but stop to gaze at it. How long she had been sitting there was anyone’s guess, but her legs were stiff and her posterior sore from having used a rock for a chair. Yes, it had been a good while.

After a brief stretch, Chouko took off as quickly as she could – which wasn’t very fast at that particular moment; her legs had fallen asleep – taking such awkward strides that a drunken antelope would have felt ill at ease just looking at her. Thankfully, no one was present to see Harida’s number one messenger embarrass herself so tremendously, and after a longer stretch, this time, she was gone – quick as the wind would take her.

She arrived at the palace completely drenched. Not in sweat, mind. She was much too classy to do something like that. It was simply the case that someone had seen fit to put a single stormcloud directly on her route. After wringing out her happi as best she could, Chouko hailed one of the palace guards, asking for directions to “that really important meeting that the emperor is holding, you know the one.” Clarity was not her strong suit. Before the befuddled guard could answer, however, the girl had already sped off in the first direction he had pointed. As was to be expected, she promptly lost her way, and so had to hail another guard in order to find it. Not having learned her lesson, she again was gone before the man had actually answered her question. This sequence repeated itself for a good half hour, until, having had their fill of laughing at the girl running in circles across the palace grounds, a group of soldiers were kind enough to form a line for her, arms out and fingers pointing to where the more well-informed among them had figured out this maniac was supposed to be.

Tipping her hat to the lot off them, thankful that she was now reasonably dry, and wondering why on earth palaces were built in such a confusing and maze-like manner, Chouko made her way up the long flight of steps. She took them four or five at a time, still intent on cutting her tardiness as short as possible. It wouldn’t do to have the emperor thinking that Harida’s number one messenger was a slacker. Nevermind that that was reasonably close to truth; it just wouldn’t do!

–

There are some things in life that one doesn’t see until it is too late to avoid them. An emperor’s summons. The death of a loved one. For Chouko, it was the brown and black-clad woman in the doorway. The poor thing never stood a chance. Harida’s number one messenger barrelled into her at full speed, noticing only after the collision that there had been an obstacle in her way. The pair tumbled headlong into the room, limbs splayed haphazardly, as the other occupants watched in shock. Thankfully, they had not spilled the tea. Never one to miss a beat, Chouko was back on her feet, bowing and apologising profusely, within an instant. Her father had informed her that she was to bow many times if she ever did something wrong, and had likewise assured her that everything would be fine because he knew his daughter had very strong abdominal muscles. After helping the woman up, Chouko turned to the rest of the room, and, bowing once more, announced: “Chouko Sasaki, atch’yer service!”

An old woman and a criminal, some of the first of surely the best heroes this land had to offer. And here she was, a one armed ninja, that before even knowing who she would be helping to die miserably, had offered to help without question just because she knew her friend would ask her, not order it. It sucked, and the hopefuls that followed didn't really help to fill her with confidence. The Harratan mountain princess that caused no short supply of worries of a potential rebellion stirring everytime she disagreed with another tribe. A masked man her ninja had been sent to find, and did so sitting in a house unmoving, without need for food or water, or apparently human contact of any kind, all because he was said to be a warlord of almost as great renown as the current emperor, but hundreds of years ago. A pretty face, that did miracles, or so she was told, though not even her ninja could tell how. A man you could barely tell was such with such a dislike for his fellow man that Umiko had been ready to draw her sword in defense of the guards escorting him as they had passed. And finally, someone yet to even arrive, likely to be late at this point, which would be the most grievous offense any of the group committed. Where did he fine this people, herself included.

But there was plenty of time to be worried later- oh so much time that Umiko had no problem wasting some on her suddenly throbbing shoulder. It got like this when rain was imminent, but strangely there were no heavy clouds nearby, and no cold wind blowing. The stupid thing, sometimes she wished it was there just so she could cut it off. It clearly didn't learn anything from the first time. Then it stopped, and she saw the storm arrive. She was a young girl, not quite a child anymore but clearly with the energy of one- and of course she moved at speeds no human should. Explained why she, of all of them was late.

Just like with the others before, she had no contact with the new arrival, preferring to watch and listen to gain intel, as one does. But there wasn't much to get other then "scatter brained" from this one, so she went back to listening at the window, less entertaining as it was, she was working, so she needed to remain diligent. That lasted for a while, until the distinct lack of the new comer entering the room for a solid 20 minutes got to her. Quietly signaling to a patrol that was about to pass near to her, she slid away from her perch and addressed them. "Round up some men and make sure the young girl that has recently arrived and is now running around the castle finds her way to the imperial waiting room behind us. Be gentle though, as she is his majesty's honored guest."

And without waiting for a reply she returned to her spot using her scarf. She could trust the palace guard to be confident in their duties- as long as someone had recently told them to be. And sure enough she was properly informed this time and found her way directly into the room, and it seemed, all the contents within. Yep, they were all going to die. Fun times.

Atmosphere

Quiet footsteps fell somewhere in the hallway as Chouko and Hideki tumbled to the ground, muffled at first by the coming rain and the sounds of guards struggling to contain Mocharatte’s dragon, but growing in volume as they were joined by both a heavier and a lighter stride. The waiting room’s thin doors slid open a moment later, revealing a girl not much older than Mocharatte herself, a stoic man at least six feet tall, and a shorter, older man with a number of scrolls tucked under his right arm.

The girl wore the clothes of the palace servants, a pale blue coat resembling a jikitotsu with red ribbon ornaments, worn over loose white hakama. Her black hair was tied back in a bun, and she seemed rather shy. The tall man, on the other hand, did not seem shy at all. His horseshoe mustache practically exuded confidence all on its own; backed up by thick black eyebrows and a steely gaze, his face was assurance personified. He wore a hitatare with a subtle dark blue checker pattern, tied over dark grey trousers by a black leather belt. Both a longsword and a short sword hung in their sheaths at his right side. Unmei, for his part, could tell that the girl was even more timid than she was letting on, but the tall man seemed to genuinely feel every ounce of conviction that he was radiating into the room.

The third man was of obvious importance and wore a controlled expression that Unmei had difficulty reading. He bore a long, thin, light-grey mustache that fell down to his chest, surpassed by an even longer soul patch. Both were neatly groomed and waxed to perfect tips. Parts of his thinning white hair were visible under the black kanmuri hat that he wore, providing a stark contrast to the large, dark irises that betrayed none of what he thought of the room’s occupants. The rest of his face moved not at all as his gaze fell over each of the emperor’s guests. It was a strange sensation looking at the elderly man, as if he was always hinting at a smile that was never there.

After giving everyone a once-over, he whispered something to the girl, advanced to the middle of the room, and seated himself at the table. His dark green sokutai was modest in ornamentation, but undeniably luxurious in the quality of its materials. Everything about him exuded class, though not arrogance: A sincere “Dear honored guests, ” was the first thing to come from his mouth. As the man began speaking, the servant girl swept up the mugs from the table with a nod to Hitomi, then quietly disappeared back into the hallway.

“His Majesty was called away to urgent business and cannot meet with you at this present time” the pine-clad man said. “If you will forgive us his absence, let us begin.”

“I am Hayato Yamaｓhita, advisor to His Majesty. I trust that you all know why you have been gathered here today, but I will reiterate for the sake of ensuring that we are all on the same page. The imperial summons you received was issued to you because you each possess a relic. I will not ask you to show or demonstrate the abilities of your relics...” – here, he nigh-imperceptibly tilted his head towards Mocharatte – “...but I wish for all of us to know the nature of this meeting.”

“As you are all no doubt aware, our honorable country has been afflicted with an abiding night. Various groups, including the gathering in this room, have been tasked with restoring the day. You, the company of relic holders, are to follow our most promising lead.”

With this, Yamaｓhita took one of the scrolls from under his arm and laid it out on the table for all to see. It was a map of the entirety of Yoikoro, drawn in dark red ink over a golden silk background and sealed with the emperor’s wax. With his index hovering over the page, he pointed to the smaller of the two islands west of the border of Harida and Shikame, the one closest to the mainland.

“This is Rakka Isle, as I am sure most of you know. According to His Majesty’s astronomers, the sun would have set over Rakka on the day it disappeared. There are no known witnesses of the event as the area is too desolate to inhabit, but we suspect that the sun crashed into the island itself. This is your destination.”

The man paused to look the group over once more, then gestured to the tall man who was now seated on his left.

“This man is Daiki Oshiro. Though he is not a relic holder, he is a capable man and has been charged with leading your expedition.” Oshiro bowed at this, saying a quick “Please take care of me” as his head bent down. Yamaｓhita then continued his discourse.

“As can be seen, there are two potential routes that your company may take. You may choose to pass over the Hikari mountain range between Kyuriko and Harida, or you may elect to circle around the mountains by passing into Shikame. Though the path through the mountains is far shorter, the horses that the palace will provide for your journey are not trained for such rugged trails; you will have to leave the mounts before passing through. The path through Shikame, on the other hand, is longer, but the roads are better maintained and more likely to be lit.

Since there is no clearly superior choice, the imperial council has elected to allow the company of relic holders to vote. You may discuss the matter among yourselves at the present time, and inscribe your choices on these pages when you are confident in your stance.” – here the elderly man rolled out nine small scrolls onto the table, one marked with Oshiro’s name, the others bearing those of the relic holders. An inkstone, inkstick, brush, and a small, ornate ballot box were all laid out by the servant girl, who had stealthily rejoined the assembly during Yamaｓhita’s speech.

At this, Yamaｓhita folded his arms, closed his eyes, and, calm as a lotus on a windless pond, unimpeded when the first of the coming thunderstrikes sounded, spoke once more.

“... Dai Hitto-himesama, please instruct your dragon to behave.”

"Instruct your guards not to shove sovereign royalty," she said angrily. It seemed like she may storm out with her dragon, but instead she closed her eyes and sighed before beckoning to the dragon. "Ryuu-chan~" she called.

The dragon immediately released a guard from it's gaping maw and took a seat by Mocharattes side.

Hitomi wasn't as surprised as she thought she'd be when a young girl came barreling into the room, bulldozing the second most recent arrival to the ground along with her. Given the kind of people that had been summoned here, though, she supposed it was inevitable that something like this would happen eventually. If anything, the young woman was glad to have an excuse to ignore Kaguya's inquiry. No sooner had the Chouko hit the floor than she was back on her feet, bowing and apologizing profusely. For the first time since Hitomi had arrived, she felt as if she could almost like somebody else in the room. The girl was a peasant, but she knew her place, and she seemed rather entertaining to boot.

The girl's antics seemed to have opened the floodgates, as a noncommittal number of people entered the room only a few moments later. They clearly weren't guests like the other eight, but rather appeared to be in the emperor's employ. Hitomi acknowledge the serving girl's nod with one of her own, but was otherwise still as the eldest of the group entered and seated himself. She remained silent as he stated that the emperor would not be seeing them in person. Her expression didn't shift in the slightest as he explained the situation. She even managed to only raise her eyebrow a little bit when he asked the mountain princess to rein in her pet dragon. Of course, her stoic appearance belied a tempest of thoughts and questions. The one thing she knew for certain was that she wanted no part of this. Nevertheless, Hitomi's composure was still intact, even if the suddenly very conspucious presence of Mocharatte's dragon was causing her to sweat a bit. She decided to voice what several of the group were likely thinking right now.

"Please don't take this the wrong way, but I am sure everyone is curious as to what will happen should we refuse to undergo this journey." Hitomi met the advisor's gaze with her own. She could see no hint of what the man was thinking, but she would make certain he didn't see anything either.